Wednesday, March 7, 2012

British Lit Class Notes -- March 6

Greetings!

We had an enjoyable class this week.  The first signs of spring often invigorate us and give us fresh energy for the tasks at hand.  (That is, until the change in weather makes us antsy to be done with all school work!)

We finished our discussion of Great Expectations this week.  I’m proud of their tackling a Dickens piece.  Many high school students never read a complete novel of his and only know his work through excerpts or movies.  When asked if they would recommend this book, they decided that it would depend on whether the person was a patient reader.  I agree.  They handed in their take home essay exams, and I look forward to reading them.  As one student commented, the questions themselves made them think more deeply about the book. 

I took a great deal of time to discuss the elements of poetry with the students.  I like to have discussion in my classes, but this week was more of a “lecture.”  Hopefully, they will feel better equipped for their next reading assignment:  The Romantic Poets.  These poems require careful reading and some hard work in order understand and then appreciate the art of the poetry.  The students have a 14-page packet of a selection of poems by William Blake, Robert Burns, William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, George Gordon/ Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and John Keats.

Assignment for Next Week:
-- Read ALL of the poems in the packet.  Choose one of the longer poems and become an “expert” on that poem.
      -- The longer poems are:  Tintern Abbey, The Aeolian Harp, Hymn to Intellectual Beauty, Ode on a Grecian Urn, or Ode to a Nightingale.
-- EXTRA CREDIT – Write a bad paragraph that I can use for Writing 2 to edit.  E-mail this to me before Monday morning.

Have a great week!
Mrs. Prichard

Romantic Poetry Selections
  Blake
      Burns
      Wordsworth
      Coleridge
      Shelley
      Byron
      Keats

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